Dr. Roy Jeffery’s suggestion of an assisted living complex below the Manitoulin Centennial Manor, but on its property and with the same pleasant view of the North Channel in that northwestern corner of Little Current, has a familiar ring to it.
The late Dr. Jack Bailey was given all credit for the notion of a home for seniors when the facility opened almost 50 years ago, in 1967 (Canada’s centennial year and hence the name).
Dr. Bailey then, like Dr. Jeffery now, had a practice where he saw many elderly patients who were still living in their own homes but were in need of a certain amount of care and who would benefit from being relieved of the responsibility of looking after their own homes.
The Manor, although it primarily serves that purpose now, was not built exclusively as a nursing home. In fact, it’s formal name, then as now, is Manitoulin Centennial Manor Home for the Aged.
In its first decade of operation, the Manor was largely occupied by people who would now be considered more appropriate for an assisted living project such as the one Dr. Jeffery proposes.
To give an idea of the Manor’s clientele in its first decade, there were two marriages there. Both couples came to the Manor as single or widowed people and met and married their last partners there, living out their married lives at the Manitoulin Centennial Manor.
Currently the client mix has swung to largely include people who need, for one reason or another, significant nursing care and while there are still “assisted living” residents there they are in the minority.
There is a nice symmetry to Dr. Jeffery’s proposal to both the Manor Board and to the Manitoulin Island municipalities that jointly own the facility and pay a portion of its operational costs, for the adjacent assisted living facility Dr. Jeffery proposes is very much in keeping with the Manor’s original vision.
Some municipalities (the Northeast Town and Assiginack) have already voted in favor of exploring Dr. Jeffery’s proposal. Others are more cautious and want more information.
Burpee-Mills has said it would not agree with the outright donation of Manor land for a not-for-profit assisted living facility.
Dr. Jeffery had requested that the Manor Board consider such a donation of land in order to minimize the cost of building the proposed facility. Such a donation would also be seen as a significant gesture of support to the project by the provincial and federal agencies that would eventually be called on to consider funding the major portion of the capital costs of such a project.
Dr. Jeffery’s proposal, even its draft form as presented to the Manor Board, has far more positive than negative attributes.
It seems intuitive that such a nearby assisted living home could enter into a relationship with the Manor, one that would be a revenue source for the Home for the Aged: the Manor’s kitchen could be contracted to provide meals for the assisted living residents and perhaps its laundry could also sell services to its neighbour.
As a not-for-profit corporation, the assisted living facility would of course require a board of directors, which could be drawn from all across Manitoulin Island, with perhaps one board member common to both the Manor board and the assisted living board.
Its clientele would, like the Manor, be drawn from across the Island, as this would be, for the present, a unique facility.
The Northeast Town itself talked about such a new facility only a few years ago and studies have already considered its feasibility.
Dr. Jeffery, like his late colleague Dr. Bailey more than a half-century before, has proposed this on his own initiative based on his professional experiences over the past few years where he has focused his practice on house calls to elderly patients.
When the municipal owners of the Manor consent to consider the idea, for the good of the whole Island community they must first focus on what is good about this proposal and how and why they should enable it to see completion and not spend time lamenting its shortcomings.
It has been a long time since a new public facility has been built to serve all of Manitoulin Island.
With an aging population, it is time to consider something appropriate to this segment of the community.
